This invention relates to a class of substituted cyanobenzeneacetonitriles and their halobenzyl halide intermediates, to the use of both classes of compounds as herbicides, and to herbicidal compositions containing them as active ingredients.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,574,594 (to Gough et. al.) discloses that unsubstituted cyanobenzeneacetonitriles and trifluoromethylbenzeneacetonitriles are useful preemergence herbicides. Those compounds appear, however, to be only moderately active and quite nonselective.
Although a large number of herbicides are presently on the market, there is a continual need for more active, more selective, and reasonably priced herbicides that could be used in the presence of commercial crops.